It’s been 29 years since the ‘June 4’ Massacre. Still, these 5 truths aren’t widely known

June 2, 2018

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE INCLUDES IMAGES SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTURBING

Following the sudden death of a beloved political reformer, Hu Yaobang, 200,000 students gathered at Tiananmen Square on April 22, 1989, to await the hearse carrying Hu’s body—but it never arrived. The mass of students were angered, and their burning desire for freedom could be contained no more.

For the next few weeks, Tiananmen Square was occupied by these student protesters, who aimed at making a reality their dream of ridding the country of communist tyranny and bringing democratic reform to China. Their non-violent demonstration perhaps brought a glimmer of hope … until the army moved in.

Although martial law was declared on May 20, what caused the army to suddenly go on a killing rampage on June 4?

1. At least 10,454 people were mass-murdered by the Chinese regime on Tiananmen Square, according to an unnamed source from the Chinese State Council. A figure far greater than the “official” fatality count of 200

On June 4, 1989, students were gunned down in droves and “mown down” by tanks. “APCs then ran over bodies time and time again to make ‘pie’ and remains collected by bulldozer. Remains incinerated and then hosed down drains,” reads part of a declassified statement, which was obtained by Alan Donald, Britain’s ambassador to China in 1989.

It’s still unconfirmed how many more were massacred during and after the students’ unarmed protest.

2. The ringleader who instigated the massacre is still alive

In addition to rolling over the students with tanks, the army fired high-explosive shells that expand on impact, also known as dum dum bullets, (forbidden by the Geneva Convention) to kill the students in the most harm-inflicting way possible.

The question remains, what kind of a human being would order such a brutal mass murder of freedom-seeking civilians?

Former dictator Deng Xiaoping was impressed with Jiang Zemin’s iron-fisted proposition to use the army to crack down on the students, and promoted him from Party chief of Shanghai to General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party days before the massacre, giving him free reign to do as he liked.

Jiang Zemin, the mastermind behind the massacre, ordered the army to carry out his bloody strategy on June 4. The “gate of heavenly peace” was suddenly turned into hell on Earth.

The Marxist hardliner and ex-senior spy for the KGB’s Far-East Bureau had only begun to show his true colors with how he dealt with the protesting students, and went on to orchestrate even bloodier campaigns.

In 1999, a jealous Jiang sought to “eradicate” Falun Gong—a popular non-religious form of meditation—all because its practitioners numbered some 100 million, outnumbering the then 70 million Party members, according to state-run reports at the time.

Under Jiang’s rule, an adroit misinformation campaign inundated China, turning public opinion against Falun Gong by subjecting the spiritual practice to extreme vilification—including the infamous Tiananmen Square “self-immolation” hoax, which successfully deceived the nation—paving the way for Jiang’s next phase: to forcibly “transform” or “eliminate” the meditators who refused to give up the practice.

In response to Jiang’s genocidal policy, believed to have caused a widespread, yet unascertainable amount of state-approved killings, including forced organ harvesting, 209,000 lawsuits have since been filed against Jiang, making him the most sued dictator in history.

“27 Army ordered to spare no one and shot wounded SMR soldiers. Four wounded girl students begged for their lives but were bayoneted. A 3-year-old girl was injured but her mother was shot as she went to her aid as were six others who tried.”

“A thousand survivors were told they could escape via Zhengyi Lu but were then mown down by specially prepared M/G (machine gun) positions.”

5. “June 4” is a highly taboo subject in China today

Despite Hong Kong lighting up every evening on June 4 in an annual candlelight vigil to commemorate the victims of the massacre, Chinese mainlanders across the border are without such freedom of speech. Talking about the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or even mentioning “June 4,” or “6.4,” could have one disappear.

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